jobfacts

Florist

Florists — SOC 2020 5443

Florists sell flowers and related products in a wholesale or retail business, and design and make up floral bouquets, wreaths, tributes and other floral arrangements for sale to the public.

Also calledArtificial floristArtificial wreath makerFloral decoratorFloral designerFloral assistantFloral artistand 4 more titles
Typical full-time pay£23,7002025 Provisional
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month43↓ 7.4%on last year · 404th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time florists earn, 2025
£23,700 typicaln/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%Not published
Median£23,700
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £23,700
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
Show as table
UK median, £23,700
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £17,200
  • 2024 £22,800
  • 2025 Provisional£23,700
↑ 38% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 43 jobs for florists are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202631
Jul 202637
Jun 2026Not published
May 202647
Apr 202639
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 202642
Jan 202653
Dec 202522
Nov 202545
Oct 202559
Sept 202553
Aug 202542
Jul 202551
Jun 202565
May 202548
Apr 202547
Mar 202554
Feb 202550
Jan 202547
Dec 20248
Nov 202447
Oct 202462
Sept 202460
Aug 202455
Jul 202453
Jun 202457
May 202453
Apr 202445
Mar 202418
Feb 202417
Jan 202441
Dec 202314
Nov 202313
Oct 202324
Sept 20238
Aug 202328
Jul 202317
Jun 202350
May 202357
Apr 202351
Mar 202364
Feb 202360
Jan 202380
Dec 202266
Nov 202266
Oct 202279
Sept 202290
Aug 202286
Jul 2022121
Jun 2022166
May 2022108
Apr 202279
Mar 202286
Feb 202291
Jan 2022109
Dec 202171
Nov 202191
Oct 2021104
Sept 2021112
Aug 2021124
Jul 2021135
Jun 202170
May 202166
Apr 202167
Mar 202198
Feb 202130
Jan 202141
Dec 202035
Nov 202028
Oct 202041
Sept 202073
Aug 202047
Jul 202063
Jun 202036
May 202035
Apr 202046
Mar 202075
Feb 202056
Jan 202077
Dec 201949
Nov 201999
Oct 201973
Sept 201945
Aug 201961
Jul 201944
Jun 201950
May 201939
Apr 201920
Mar 201933
Feb 201925
Jan 201931
Dec 201811
Nov 201823
Oct 201825
Sept 201843
Aug 201827
Jul 201825
Jun 201823
May 201828
Apr 201823
Mar 201820
Feb 201822
Jan 201833
Dec 20176
Nov 201725
Oct 201725
Sept 201731
Aug 201738
Jul 201750
Jun 201733
May 201741
Apr 201755
Mar 201756
Feb 201740
Jan 201743
Is there a shortage of florists?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
49%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for other skilled trades, which includes florists. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London49
City of Edinburgh4
Windsor and Maidenhead4
Buckinghamshire3
Manchester3
Belfast2
Birmingham2
Dorset2
East Riding of Yorkshire2
Huntingdonshire2
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where florists are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of florists
n/p
n/p
n/p
40%!
n/p
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–44Not published
45–5440% (small sample)
55–64Not published
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!58%
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!43%
GCSEs or equivalent!17%
Other qualifications!14%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent58% (small sample)
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent43% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent17% (small sample)
Other qualifications14% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: retail sale of flowers, plants, seeds, fertilisers, pet animals and pet food in specialised stores (123%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
58%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
21 months to 2 years
typically
T Levels
1
college courses for 16 to 19 year olds

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need to start as an assistant or trainee florist.

Courses include:

  • floristry
  • creative craft - floristry
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Florist Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, or Senior Florist Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

These usually take about 2 years to complete and are a mix of workplace learning and off-site study.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Work your way up

You could start as an assistant in a florist's shop and learn and train on the job.

Employers may want you to have some GCSEs, including maths and English, creative flair and a keen interest in floristry. Experience in retail customer service would also be helpful.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Check out floristry professionals' stories, talking about how they started out and the different routes they took.

Further information

You can find out more about working and training in floristry through the British Florist Association.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for florist. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Agriculture, Land Management and ProductionT Level3

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • orders and purchases fresh flowers, foliage and other floristry items such as ribbons, wire, cards, artificial flowers etc. from wholesalers or growers
  • displays and cares for flowers, plants and ready-made floral arrangements in selling premises
  • designs and makes up wreaths, bouquets, posies, corsages, headdresses and button holes using appropriate flowers, foliage, frame and trimmings
  • confers with and advises customers regarding their design requirements and arranges for the delivery of floral arrangements as requested by the customer
  • decorates buildings, halls, churches or other facilities for parties, weddings, etc
  • sells flowers, plants, foliage etc. to the public and performs retail duties such as keeping accounts

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for textiles, printing and other skilled trades, a group of 17 jobs that includes florists.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035→ 0%about 0 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035276,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.